air people; refugees fleeing by air
Refers to people who fled their country by airplane, especially Vietnamese refugees after the Vietnam War. Often contrasted with ボートピープル (boat people).
See also: ボートピープル
After the Vietnam War, many air people settled in Japan.
Both air people and boat people were accepted as refugees.
Variant with a middle dot, sometimes used for clarity.
Loanword from English 'air people', modeled after 'boat people'.